In Time
by ChallaG
Summary: Spike's past is long gone and so is his life, so it seems. It's up to the rest of the crew to move on and live life as they should, after all time doesn't stop for the living and WHAT! ED GETS KIDNAPPED! WTF! revised
1. Pulling the Trigger

**Katsuko- 'alo peeps, here is the fanfic I did a long time ago, it's been revised and more chapters have been added, hope you guys like it and let me know what you guys think! **

**DISCLAIMER: I do ****NOT**** own Cowboy Bebop or their characters **

**Original characters and plot thought of by Me =]**

**I hope this new format will be easier guys to read and understand. =]**

**In Time**

**Chapter 1- Pulling the trigger**

**By Katsuko**

It wasn't a day for mourning but it sure as hell felt like it, the dread he felt stepping out on to the open world was just fair warning. But, no one will notice him; he was just another bystander to the busy people of Mars. But he knew better and someone did notice. One person did pay close attention to his every move. Although Spike knew he was being watched he kept his cool, but regret, anger and dread founds its creeping claws up his spine. They were enemies now, until death does them apart. But even in death he knew they will torture each other to no ends. Both to busy in their own pain, anger, past and love. Yes love, because at one point they were the best of friends, blood brothers, if one jumps so does the other, with out a question and with out a doubt and loyal to the end, right? Well at least it started out that way for Spike. Now the winds howled and screeched and told him to fly away but the tears the gods were shedding told him otherwise, so he kept still. He couldn't leave now, not with out seeing her, not with out taking his angel away and live a life of bliss and without him, without….Vicious.

He took out a cigarette as he cautiously made his way to the cemetery. He will meet his angel and they will fly, fly away to their haven. His walk, though cool and collected as he always seemed to be, was nothing but a mask, for his heart and his mind were on a frantic roller coaster turning left, right, up, down, upside down, here and there, forward and back as his stomach clenched and unclenched. What was wrong? He had no problem letting her know he loved her. He would be a fool if he didn't. But it was because he loved her, he felt fear. Fear he would not be able to see his angel, fear; he wouldn't be enough to protect her and fear that she will pick Vicious instead of him. So then, why is she willing to risk her life to meet him? There couldn't be any other reason why? Just the fact that she loves him, she will love him for eternity.

Reaching the gray cemetery; the trees were shedding its leaves. The stones cried for the dead and the dead flowers planted for them washed away as their memory fades down the drain. It was a day of mourning after all, the winds picked up and the tear drops were as sharp as thin glass; the clouds turned dark shades of death and blood. Not even the dead were at peace. He could feel them choking him with their skeleton hands, breathing down chills of death. And there he sees her, standing just as beautiful and just as bright. The Deadly Angel Julia; A woman any girl would be jealous of, a woman who loved two men; a woman confused, scared and brave. He stared at her crystallized blue eyes and he saw nothing but love. Not a quiver of worry.

At least, that's what he wanted to see; though her eyes shined like crystals it was only because of the unshed tears. Her eyes did not shift, not from her target at least. He grins.

'_So much for wishful thinking' _

he thought.

But he stared long and hard at her.

_'Will she really shoot me?' _

No words were exchanged, not yet. What is she to do? She can kill the man who loves her dearly and be free, free from Vicious and free from death or if she runs away with him……. She would look over her shoulder constantly, living in fear of Vicious finding them, having to run again. NO. She couldn't have that. She was tired and she wanted out just as bad as Spike.

She steadily aims her gun.

"Are you going to shoot me, Julia?"

she dared not speak, she couldn't not with her throat shut by guilt, but she steadied her aim instead_. 'Don't look at him, just pull the trigger that's all you have to do'_

She told herself as she stared, she couldn't help herself, he had that power over her, hypnotized her with his brown eyes, typical brown eyes. There is nothing special about them, at least to anyone else. But it's what those eyes have seen that made them special. They've seen her naked in love, they've seen her heart, her soul and they've seen her hurt. Those brown eyes saw the good and the bad but mostly the good. Did Vicious see the same?

She would like to believe that at one point Vicious did love her. Not only because she was a very attractive woman but because he loved her soul. He loved to spend time with her, loved to show her off. He loved to treat her. She believed she was his escape from the cruel world he had no choice to live. She would like that to be true. Yes she would. But that was at one point. Now he loved her because he should, because he saw her first, he had her first, she was his territory, no one else's not even if you are Vicious' right hand man.

He took his time, calmed himself and stared. There is just no way she'd shoot him, she couldn't and she wouldn't. So why was he scared? Why was every nerve, every bone and every instinct telling him to run? He wanted to take a step back, but for once in his life he was scared. Not of dying, hell no, that was never a problem for him. But he was scared for the fact that the one person that brought life back into his very being was about to take it away.

"Should I-- draw my weapon?"

he asked her teasingly, grinning once again as he still keeps both his hands visible just enough to see him tracing his finger on his gun. She glared at him, her blue eyes burning from the tears she won't let fall and doing so only resulted in a headache. But she knew how she can solve the pain away. All she had to do was pull the trigger.

She squeezed just a little more

"Why do you love me?"

She was stalling and it was pitiful and she knew it. He took a closer look at her, though she seemed ready to shoot at anything that moved, her eyes, her eyes were talking for her. And he didn't like what they said, they told him she was sorry, she never meant to hurt him, nor Vicious and now we are all paying the price. Those blue eyes told him she did love him and now she can't, because in those blue eyes he saw nothing but death chasing after her. And that made him angry. He saw the love she had for Vicious and he saw the love she had for him. Which one was stronger he did not know, he couldn't tell.

"So, what are you waiting for?"

he kept his stance.

Her aim quivered, just for a second.

"Don't…Don't tempt me"

She blinked and one lone tear fell. He lifts a questioning eyebrow

"Aren't you here to kill me? To go back, TO HIM!"

He spat the last sentence with so much hate she flinched.

"No"

she simply said.

"I'm not going back to anyone, I'm leaving Spike and its best you do the same and never see each other again. And if you do see me…"

she stopped for her voice was wavering

"Pretend you never knew me, just think of it all as a dream, I don't exist! TO YOU OR HIM!"

She cried and pulled the trigger, in slow motion she saw the hammer of the gun pull back and shot forward as its hot metal bullet came out of the barrel and straight to its target. Beyond that she saw his face, surprised, scared and angry. She saw him fall to the floor.

She wanted to run to him, hug him, apologize, kiss him and heal him. But now this was her chance, to turn tail and run. This was her moment of freedom. Now with Spike dead, she's free. She turns and runs she ran until she couldn't run anymore and forget. Forget the love they once shared, forget the woman she once was and forget this world ever existed. And that's exactly what she did.

Spike remembered, he will always remember, how couldn't he? They were supposed to run away together and be free, but fate loved to play jokes with him and he remembers, because that day, at the cemetery, he did not die. Fate had something else in mind.


	2. Now What?

**Chapter 2**

**And Now?......**

That was 4 years ago; now it seems that Spike's past has finally caught up with this speeding cowboy. Spike had no regrets, what would be the point? What is done is done. It's just that simple all he can do is fixed what needed fixing.

And Spike did fix his past. As he now staggers down the steps to the crumbling syndicate building of The Red Dragons. The taste of blood reminding him of what had just occurred, metal, running, a gun shot, Vicious. Spike admittedly was sad it was his friend, his brother. He took his life. Another burden he would have to carry. He thought of it as pay back. Since Vicious did kill Julia.

That wasn't the problem he was facing though. His past is now officially in the past, yet he feels something left unfinished. His eyes glazing over, he can feel his vision coming and going. Seeing instances of blonde hair and blue eyes; no green eyes and purple hair. Missing a step, he hears her voice _'Where are you going?'_

He stares up, his mind seeing her standing beside him.

_'Why are you going?' _

he staggers more but some how maintains his balance.

"I….just…need…to…know."

he rasps out to the beautiful figure.

Getting closer to the exit

_'It's all a dream, Spike'_

once again saw blonde hair and blue eyes stare at him.

"All….ugh…a….dream?"

he was confused.

What was going on? Julia was finally free. But this regret, this guilt that was not letting him forget, his friends, his family. The kid, damn that kid. She was smart and annoying, mostly annoying and mostly smart. He smirked at the thought of her. Not sure he ever met such innocence like Ed. What about that dog? Ein, stupid dog, never knew when to shut up; barking, always encouraging the girl. He was a friend first, dog second. The Black Dog, now there was a man who is the very definition of "Gung Ho" a soldier. He laughed, accidentally spitting out blood, the last thing he remembers of him is the stupid stories they've shared recently. Then there was her, the ice queen bitch, stubborn and feisty. He admired her longing for truth but most of all her longing for love. After all her hardships, she still had hope for love.

He sees the light; all he needs is a few more steps. He sees a few more syndicate members but he couldn't careless he modeled his hand into a gun, smirks and grunts out in one breath

"BANG!"

He fell to his death.

-----

Barren outside of Mars System the Bebop floats aimlessly. The quiet bitter mood is broken none other than Faye Valentine.

"So . . . do you think he made it?"

Faye tried to hide the worry in her voice but she was in such an emotional state, she couldn't care. She was worried not just for him but for everyone else she came to realize was her home and family. This was her home now and she desperately needed it back the way it was.

She wanted to argue with Spike about anything about nothing. She wanted Ein and Ed to keep her company, no matter how annoying she finds them to be. They were entertaining. She wanted Jet to worry and look after her like if he was her father of a sort. She found herself hating everything about Spike's past. She hoped Vicious was dead and in some sick way she was glad that Julia is no longer among the living. She felt horrible about feeling this way toward her, she couldn't help it, she was jealous. She was jealous because she had Spike like no other person could ever have him. Faye couldn't even have a decent conversation with him. She was jealous that the only person that occupied his heart and soul was Julia, not her.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a gruff cough

"I . . . I don't know"

Jet found himself looking down, ashamed that he didn't have enough faith in his friends' survival. Faye looked up at him and slowly her anger got the best of her

"But . . . he's your friend, our friend, he was something to us whether we wanted it to happen or not, how can you just ignore what's happening out there! For all we know he can be hurt waiting for us to pick him up!"

Jet glared at Faye

"You think he is . . . de-dead, don't you?"

he didn't want to get her upset but damn it he was not going to put up with her shit.

"Think? DAMN IT FAYE! I KNOW HE'S DEAD! WHETHER YOU OR I LIKE IT OR NOT!"

a sigh was heard

"I said before and I'll say it again Faye and only this once, he was nothing but fucking trouble and nothing more, he was bound to die like this"

Jet saw the tears slip down her eyes

_'This is going to be a long night'_

With the fatherly caring voice he had told her softly

"Listen Faye, he's gone . . . Vicious would make sure he is dead before he dies . . . there is just no way Spike survived."

Faye was horror struck

"Don't say that!"

she found herself yelling before she can comprehend what she had just said.

"He can't die . . . he couldn't . . . he just has to be alive. I just know it!"

Jet couldn't help but roughly laugh at her absurd behavior.

Faye was running to the hangar she paused when Jet's metallic arm grabbed her shoulder.

"Your ship is broken . . . don't torture yourself, Faye. He is dead . . . he is not coming back."

Faye turned around and embraced the unexpected Jet and silently cried for Spike's death. Jet heard a transmission coming in from the control room. He gave Faye a stern look before he let her go. He accepted the message.

"Hey Jet well I got some recent news about the syndicate you wanted to know about."

At this Faye shot up and ran to the restroom and locked herself inside, Jet did nothing but give a worry sigh "And? What did you find out, any survivors?"

Jet was now massaging his temples trying to relieve the headache from holding back the tears a man like him will never let drop.

"Well that's what I'm calling you, Jet. There are no survivors, absolutely none, I've never seen so many bodies and blood before in my time, the building is partially collapsed caused by a few explosives so it seems."

"Do you have any of the bodies identified at least, Bob? ...Bob?"

The officer did nothing but look down afraid if he should say anything or not.

"ARE YOU GOING TO ANSWER ME?"

"Yea . . . we have a few recovered bodies that are actually in tact for someone to recognize, So far we have a Vicious, does he sound familiar?"

Jet couldn't help but smile triumphantly

_'The bastard did it'_

"yea he does, he was assuming power over the syndicate for a while, I'm glad he didn't get too far."

"Yo Jet, how is it that you know this? I.S.S.P doesn't even know the main leader of the Red Dragon Syndicate."

He couldn't help but ask.

"Bob that's not for you to worry about, besides they are all . . . dead now, what's the point?"

"Yea . . . you are right, well if you want to come to the Mars Mortuary just ask for Mr. Chaves, well that's it Jet, have a good one."

"Yea . . . right, thanks."

He cut off the comm. link. He started thinking to himself; did he really want to go and try to find Spike, even if he was most likely to be dead?

"Hmm . . . damn he's nothing but trouble."

In the restroom, Faye just looked at herself in the mirror noticing her swollen eyes and tear stained face, she rinsed her face with cold water.

"_Why does this hurt . . . why couldn't I stop him?' _

She wasn't sure with her emotions but she had an idea.

_'He's not coming back . . . he's dead'_ she heard Jet's voice in her thoughts.

"Hmm . . . What's the point in loving a dead man.?"

If only she could believe such a lie like that. Faye was no fool, she knew she would always remember but ignoring her heart, she will find a way to move on even if it was a bunch of lies.

_'Easy come and Easy go'_

she wipes her eyes dry and takes a deep breath before she steps out of the restroom. Walking to Jet, she noticed he was still talking to the officer.

"If you want to come to the Mars Mortuary just ask for Mr. Chaves . . ."

_'They found his body!' _

Faye felt weak.

_'I think I'm going to throw up' _

She runs but she doesn't get far

"Come on Faye you can do this, if you know he's dead then you can move on."

She found herself saying this in hopes that maybe she will be able to continue with life. She turns back around

"So are we going?"

She walked up to Jet determined to get this over with.

"What? You want to go?"

"Well I think I want to see the building first before we go to that Morgue."

"Faye...what are you planning? There is no point going there? You are not going to find him."

"I just want to see the mess he left behind."

Faye forced herself to smirk

"You know how he is."

Jet a bit surprised about the way Faye was handling herself, if she wanted to see him or the 'mess' he left behind then he'll take her.

'_Better now than never, I guess.'_

"Only if you are sure;"

"Yea . . . I'll be fine one way or another, let's just go, OK."

She almost sounded desperate but she hid it with another smirk. Jet sighed and got the Bebop headed to Mars docking station.

_3 hrs. later . . . _

"That was a fun walk to remember."

Faye being her sarcastic self; both ships were broken down for the moment; they didn't want to spend the last of their money on a cab. They had no choice but to walk in this heat.

"Just keep on walking we are almost there, anyway."

Jet and Faye arrived to their destination and to say that they were surprised was an understatement. They were devastatingly shocked. They knew the hot headed bounty hunter for the mess and trouble he caused but this was a disaster. Half of the building collapsed, they weren't even sure if it was safe to walk inside._ 'What was he thinking that lunkhead'_

Faye couldn't help but admire the damaged he caused, it made her smile. She could already see the argument her and Spike would have if they were working on this together. She knows she would be fighting with him about paying for the damages, how he should pay them since **he** was the one that did it and Spike would argue about how she should pay for it for being a shrew woman. Since Spike was gone, she has come to realize how selfish she turned out to be. Now that she got her memories back, she had no plans in becoming "The Shrew Woman" or becoming so self-centered.

_'It's never too late for a change' _

that was one thing she wasn't comfortable with. It was easy not caring about others and taking care of only yourself.

_'Ha! If it was so easy, I wouldn't have come back to the ship, I wouldn't have fallen for a dead man'_

She knew she needed to be back at the Bebop with everyone who once inhabited the ship, but now it was just her and Jet. There is going to be some absolute changes happening around here and it's going to start with her personality and her view of things.

Faye would just have to worry about that later, since Jet has been talking to her for the past few minutes. "Faye are you even listening to me?"

he waited patiently.

_'Maybe it wasn't a good idea to come here' _

Jet couldn't help but worry for her, she was all he had for company, he didn't want to spend the rest of his life alone. He needed someone to keep him from fading from reality.

_'Man . . . I just need to get laid' _

He coughed to erase that thought from his head and deciding to say anything before his brain concocts another thought about sex.

"Faye if you are not ready . . . or if you don't want to go in that's fine, I'll just go to the morgue while you wait in the ship"

Faye looked up glad he was worried about her; she just smiled back with sad eyes.

She knew it wasn't going to be easy, but better to find out the truth now than later.

"Jet, though I am appreciating this new side of concern you have for me, give me some space, I want to do this . . . I **need** to know."

making sure she made her point she moved into the fallen building.

_"_Hey Jet,, after this trip. Let's take you to the doctors"

Jet looked up perplexed

"Why the hell for? I don't need no doctor."

Faye smiled

"Yea, you do. Where did you get that metal arm of yours? Maybe you should think about upgrading it, have it look more human or at least have the gears and screws changed, I'm surprised you haven't started squeaking."

Faye couldn't help but laugh at her own joke. Jet glared at her for laughing, his arm was no laughing matter to him.

"There is nothing wrong with my arm, Faye. If it bothers you so much all you have to do is leave, I'm not going change it."

Jet didn't mean to sound harsh but he was a stubborn old man and took things personal when it came to his metallic arm.

"Don't need to get your underwear in bunch, I was just showing some concern about your well being, I don't have a problem with your arm, Jet. I was just suggesting getting your arm fixed so you won't have a problem with your reflexes, besides it's not just the arm, but you also got shot in the leg. I'm surprised it's not infected. At least go to the doctors for your leg, Jet, before we leave this god forsaken planet."

Faye was annoyed about his attitude.

_'So much for trying to show that I'm concerned, damn old man'_

she decided to ignore it for now.

"I'll think about it."

Jet walked in to the entrance.

Faye followed after looking all around her. What once was a lobby was now in shambles, bullet holes and blood decorated the walls and floor. The smell was unbearable from the scent of old blood mixed with the dust flowing around the building.

"Spike . . . what did you do?"

Faye said to herself.

"You think he went a little happy with the bombs?" He couldn't help but laugh. "Just a little, that lunkhead."

They looked up the stairs and found there was just enough room for one person to go in at a time. They climbed up the broken pieces of cement; along the way up they found a severed arm.

"Aghh! What is that thing! ...EW! That's gross" Jet rolled his eyes.

"Don't start Faye, you wanted to come to this place so deal with it."

Faye bit her lip in hopes she won't throw up.

"Yea . . . yea I know"

She tried to ignore the bits and pieces of flesh that once were attached to a body, somewhere. They reached to the top, they couldn't get any further, the second floor and up was completely closed off. Faye searched all around, after all she came here for a reason and hidden between two big pieces of cement was the one and only Israeli Jericho 941

_'I know you are going to be pissed once you find out it was I who took it, but I have my reasons.' _The gun was a bit damaged but after a good bounty. She will have it repaired. She goes in the little crevice and reaches for the gun.

"Hey! What do you have there?"

Faye comes out, gun in hand and smirking

"Just getting myself a souvenir."

Jet looked worried for a moment.

"Is that his?"

"Yea."

She cut in before he said a word.

"Let's go"

Jet shrugged and made it back downstairs.

"Spike I hope you put your past to rest and move on, if you are fighting your way to the pearly gates, I got your back."

Jet said as he glanced at Faye who was twirling Spike's gun as if it was hers all the while. He knew as well as she they're going to change after this, he just hope it's for the best. Leaving the building, they silently said their farewell.

_'If only I told you, Spike, maybe things would have turned out different, See ya...Lunkhead...don't forget __**us **__Spike Spiegel.'_


	3. Accepting Reality

_**Chapter 3**_

_**Accepting Reality…**_

Now it was time to visit Mars Mortuary, Faye wasn't looking forward to the visit.

"Um. . . Jet you think I can go back to the ship, my stomach is upset."

Jet knew that wasn't the reason why she did not want to go but he didn't want to baby sit her either once she starts crying. It's just too awkward nursing a crying Faye.

"Yea, kid. I'll be back in a few."

Jet could tell she needed some time alone, he was positive she would be in her room crying.

Faye starts her walk; she wasn't in a hurry to get back to the Bebop. She decided to use this time to think things through. Figure out what her next move should be.

Jet walks in through the doors of Mars Mortuary, the building was cold and sterile but no matter how clean it was it still held the stench of death. Unconsciously Jet shivered, rubbing his real arm to rid of the goose bumps that secretly snaked their way through. In the distance he heard music, it was some scary opera song, which by the way went very well with the room he just walked in. There were big cupboards all around the wall and there were bodies bagged in beds with a tag on their toes. Jet could picture them rising as if they are zombies trying to eat his brain.

_'Just cool your jet that only happens in movies' _

Jet laughed nervously trying to forget what he just thought. A hand reached out to his shoulder and he shouted from surprise

"What the hell!"

He pointed his gun at a white cloaked man with glasses. Sweating from the rush of adrenaline, he tried to calm his breath.

"Excuse me sir, are you lost? No one is supposed to be in here, hmm?...and to think it scares adults as well."

the man couldn't hide his amusement. Jet glared at him

"I wasn't scared; you just caught me off guard is all."

He heard the man chuckle

"Agh, forget it, I'm looking for a Mr. Chaves, do you know who he is?"

At this the man looked up and smile

"In the flesh, well obviously if I were dead I wouldn't be walking around unless of course you actually believe in the living dead, then here I am, don't worry I won't eat your brains."

Mr. Chaves laughed at his own joke, Jet who thought this guy could use a good hand book on jokes, rolled his eyes.

_'It's always the science nerds that freak us out'_

"So...I'm here for the bodies that were recovered yesterday to identify someone."

The doctor realized he wasn't laughing along with him and decided to get to business.

"Ah, yes. Well then in that case sir, you came to the right room the bodies you see here and a few others in the cooler were the only ones that were actually whole. The rest had to be cremated."

He led Jet to the first row of bodies, uncovering the bodies, Jet could tell they put up a fight, most of them had so many bullet holes it was a miracle they were still holding up.

At one point Jet's heart stopped, there on the bed was a man that looked just like Spike; he almost told the doctor he knew him until he noticed his hair was dark brown

_'Did Spike have a brother?'_

He stopped to think about it, and figured he would never know. When it came to the last one he didn't need the man to pull down the sheet to figure out who it was. There lying dead on the bed, he saw strands of silver hair fall out. The doctor noticed Jet look interested in this one.

"This body was at the top of the stairs, luckily, while he wasn't so lucky since he is dead, Ha! _(cough)_ um...sorry about that _(cough)_ luckily his body wasn't to bad to carry."

"He got shot a few times but they were just scrapes, the one that really did him in was the bullet to the heart."

Jet was confused by this.

"What do you mean "This body wasn't too bad to carry? what happened?"

The doctor sighed.

"Well from the reports, after 45 minutes of trying to salvage anything and anyone they can, the building collapsed, turns out that there were a few bombs set off."

Jet really wasn't surprised by the news since he just saw the place.

"Sir..."

"Just call me Jet."

"Very well, Jet. Do you know this person here?"

Jet uncovered the body himself, he was damn right positive this was the man. He was the only one not showered with bullets, this only could have happened in a one on one fight.

"Not personally, I just heard of him, his name is Vicious."

The doctor scribbled down his name on the tag.

"What about the others? You looked worried for a second from the body before this one."

Jet turned back around to look at it.

"No, I have no idea who he is; I thought he was someone else."

Jet sounding tired both emotional and physical but being the man he is, he wouldn't show it.

"In that case Jet, there is no one else to name. These are all the bodies we recovered."

Jet surprised to hear this news

"What? Why? What about the bodies still left in the building?"

Mr. Chaves wasn't happy with what he just found out as well.

"Well the governor is planning to burn the building down and create a grand hotel."

"They can't do that!"

"They can and they will, besides they were criminals after all."

"Criminals or not, that is just wrong"

Jet walked out angry and confused. Why Spike wasn't there, is he alive? Or is he one of the bodies that's going to burn down with the building?

"Ha! The day he is alive, will be the day I tell him I missed him."

He hailed down a taxi and head back to the Bebop. He didn't tell Faye, but he always kept extra money with him just in case.

"She is going to be pissed off if she finds out."

Jet looked out the window of the cab,

"Well Spike-o, it was fun while it lasted, Rest In Peace, my friend."

With that he went back to his home, glad the day was over. He will deal with the rest tomorrow.


	4. A New Life, A New Reason Why

**Chapter 4**

**A new life, a new reason why….**

Laughing Bull tired with age but wise as time, healing the broken star. The body stirs but he knows he will not wake. He looks up at the first evening star for guidance; he watches as the star brightens then dims, brightens then dims. He stares back at the human, a bit concerned about the future soon to be present. He knows though he will be taken care of as long as the man that lies before him can see beyond his past.

He prepares his remedies and sprinkles it on the man he is healing. Chanting his prayers for a speedy cure; He bandages the sword wounds on the man before him. Taking out a bullet or two before it gets infected. He stares up at his comrades.

"This Swimming Bird can survive, if he can find forgiveness. This Swimming Bird lost his past but he has not yet lost his future."

His two brothers nod in unison; kneeling and entering the room they helped Laughing Bull with the cure.

_~~~~ In Mars~~~~~~_

Walking the streets of Mars, Faye can't help but acknowledge the pain she is feeling in her heart. _'What am I going to do?'_

She walks aimlessly and bumps in to an elderly woman who turns around and starts telling her off. Oblivious to the rude remarks, she continues her walk to the Bebop

_'Did he not care about us? About-- me?'_

She looks up to the red purple sky,

_'you're an asshole, Lunkhead'_

she continues on _'_

_What about Jet? Should I leave? Where do I go? Should I leave and forget?...no. I can't do that to Jet, granted he's a tough bastard, but he's the only family I have, I can't lose connection with the only thing I know. What about that kid and her stupid mutt? Are they ok? God, I hope so'_

She opens the hangar door and makes her way to the yellow couch lying there staring at the fan slowly rotating. How can she leave a place that was now her home? To leave would be too cowardly and Faye Valentine is no coward, but to stay? To face facts every time she walks by his room, this yellow couch she lays on, almost seemed impossible, his ghostly image already haunting her; while she stares at the door frame she can see him leaning there-- smoking a cigarette, head slightly lowered and a smirk that you couldn't help but admire.

As quickly as she saw it, he vanished

"WAIT! DON'T GO!....wait."

she lays her head in her hands and cries. The tears she's been holding in since seeing the building spill out and it seems there is no stopping them. She pulls out his gun, stares at it and pulls the trigger, nothing shot out.

"Crazy bastard"

she couldn't help but smile.

Though she knows it would be hard to deal with for a great while it was better than being alone, and right now she didn't want to be she lays down on the couch too tired to move and too blind by her tears she lays on the couch where she can smell him and sleep.

_~~~~2 hours later~~~~_

Jet walks in a bit tired and sore from the long walk. He was grateful that he didn't return too early, upon seeing Faye lying down with a tear stained face. He wouldn't have been able to stay in control anymore. He finds a blanket and lays it on top of her. Walking to the kitchen he fixes up the usual, bell peppers and beef, without the beef.

_~~~On earth~~~_

"Oooh!."

The sound of clicking is heard.

"nyaaa!!"

in the dark in a messy room, you see an outline of a very excited, Ed. Eyes glowing eerily she looks at Ein a bit shocked at seeing the wicked grin upon her face he perked up his ears and tilted his head

"arf?"

Ed glances at Ein

"Pow! Chyaa! I found them, yes I did, the beep, beep, bop, boop, THE BEBOP!"

she flips backwards and rolls in to a ball, rolling towards Ein she picks him up and shucks him to the air "paaauuuu!"

Ed miraculously catches him.

"We are going back to the place where we belong Ein"

hearing this news Ein wiggles his tail and barks in excitement.

"SHHHH!!...Ein"

She crouches down to Ein holding his snout lightly.

"We can't let the spooky-ooky MOOONSSSTER! Hear us Ein, he's not good for Ed"

upon saying this she howls and wiggles her arms to give it a ghost effect. Glancing at the snoring figures she frowns a bit.

She couldn't leave father-person, but she was bored and inside she knew he wouldn't notice. Petting Ein on the head, he nuzzled up to her. Looking determined she smiles and with a spray can she found she wrote "Ed " across the wall. She packed up tomato and secured Ein with her on her super scooter. And they were off! With bright hopes for the future.

_~~~ 10 miles south~~~_

In a docking station, three men are lifting crates to a carrier. Ed eavesdrops to see where the cargo is going.

"Hey! Jake! What the hell are you doing!"

the fat sweaty man yells at a teenage boy. Jake looks up at the man a bit annoyed, he could have sworn he saw a little dog.

"What does it look like I'm doing!"

the fat man, a bit ticked off yells back

"Get your ass over here and start moving these fuckin' crates!"

Jake gives up his search but will keep a careful eye out for it, and glares at his boss

"Damn lazy bastard, can't even do shit!"

He sighs as goes to the crates.

Keeping Ein close to her, she slithers down to one crate to the other slowly getting closer. All she needs to do is find a crate big enough for her and Ein that is being shipped to Mars. Ein, whines as Ed's bone crushing death grip never faltered. Ed looks down

"Shhh…Ein….we have to be quiet"

She sees two boxes. One tall and skinny and one short and round and coincidentally enough they were going to mars.

"Nyaaa! "

She grins and for a second she looked like an evil scientist. She crouches down, looking to her left, right, forward and back and

"HEY!"

Ed stands up and crouches back down. Jake a bit confused by seeing Ed tries to talk to her

"Hey! Kid! You can't be here!"

Ed starts growling along with Ein

"huh?"

Jake sees Ed ready to pounce

"Are you ok?"

Ed whispers to Ein

"Ein, open the crates"

Ein with no question goes off.

"Hey stop!....siiit!....sit! lay down! Halt!"

Jake yelled as many commands to the dog, but it was like the dog had no ears.

Going back to the matter at hand he points a finger at Ed. Opening her mouth she bit down. He started screaming. Trying to pry her mouth open she starts to jump around. Spinning him in circles and crawling all over him, she starts biting his head.

"Hey kid, stop it! Knock it out! Ouch!!! That hurts!"

Jake a bit confused was trying to figure out what in the world was going on. It was just a day of hard labor and cheap pay. Being attacked by possibly a boy or a girl he really couldn't tell and its dog was not in his agenda. He grabbed Ed by the ankles, not strong enough to hurt her but just enough pressure for Ed to curiously stare at him. "Huunn?" Ed looks up Jake's jeans stuffed in her mouth.

"Let!....Go….of…meee!"

Jake growled out the words holding back his frustration.

"….?_?"

Ed slowly let herself drop slithering to a stand, spitting out the jeans she torn off

"What is the trouble Capt'n?"

Ed stands at attention saluting.

"uh…you are not allowed to be here"

Jakes starts pushing her out.

" You should go back home"

Ed looks up

"That's what I'm doing"

she smiles wide at him

"huh? What do you mean? This isn't your home"

He stopped and places a hand on her shoulder.

"Of course this is not my home, silly. Me and Ein are going back to where we belong!"

"Oi, boy! GET TO WORK! Eh!"

Bill starts walking over to Jake unable to see the two small companions.

"Stupid kid! They are all lazy!"

He grumbles to himself.

"Look kid, you are going to get me in trouble, please just go home"

Ed looks at him a bit confused

"That is what I am** trying** to do" ^^;

Jake pays close attention to Ed and noticing that Ed is a girl, feeling a bit sorry for the girl he sighs "Alright, where do you need to go?"

at this Ed perks up

"oooh! We are going to the Bebop!"

she starts to hop around him laughing her heart out.

"Shhh!...keep it down! My boss is coming…where is the bebop?"

He starts to whisper and crouching a bit so his boss can't see him.

"The bebop is at mars! It's at Mars!!!"

she shouted unable to contain her excitement. Ein starts barking as well .

"WHAT IN GODS NAME ARE YOU DOING THERE!!!"

Bill starts to hurry over to Jake getting very frustrated with the lack of work Jake has done. Too angry to pay attention to the crates that just fell right in front of him missing him by mere inches. To shocked to move, Jake uses this chaotic time to put Ed and Ein in the boxes that were being shipped to mars.

"okay just stay still, whatever you do, don't make any noise and if they see you just run"

he pets Ein and tries to shake hands with Ed only to have her lick his palm like a dog. Grossed out but having no choice but to appreciate the gesture he closes them in and moves them to the proper ship.

Bill finally out of his daze grabs Jake by the scruff of his collar

"listen boy! You better start doing some work around 'ere or you gonna get 'irself fired, eh! Do we gots an understandin'?"

Jake nods noticing the yellow/green teeth and putrid breathe Bill breathed out. Letting him fall, he waddles back inside his office and slams the door. He carefully moves the two crates as careful as he could "Shhh…stay quiet….not a sound you guys…"

"NYAH!!.....ouch……ouchies!......uh oh"

Ed tried her hardest not to smash Ein but gravity was just too strong for the scrawny genius

"auuuunff!!"

Ein sqealed

Jake walking as casual as he could

"hey kid, what's in that box" J

ake froze

"NOTHING!...(cough)…nothing"

The older man couldn't help but look suspicious at him,

"Are you hiding something?"

he steps a little closer

"Uh, no! of course not!, I mean what could I possibly hide? I'm just a kid, I just saw a rat"

The man widens his eyes

"Is that right? A rat, you say?"

"Yea-huh, you know how those rats can be..very…uh…viciously weird?"

Jake was so confused

"ooooh!!! Ein where is the rat? Do you see it boy?"

Ed questioned the dog, she was confused, there were no rats, she picked up Ein and looked under him, then crawled to the other side

"huh?"

Jake blushes as the box starts to make it's own sound effects and rattles from Ed and Ein's movement

"Hey kid, what's in there?"

"I told you nothing, it's….those….damn….rats!!"

he shouts out as he stomps and kicks the box

"nyaaaAAh!!, ouches!! Mr. Jake person that hurts!!"

Ed glares at the little peep hole. The worker comes closer,

"what did it say?"

he comes close enough to open the crate and Jake holds his breath hoping that Ed and Ein could somehow turn invisible,

"Doooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!"

the lunch bell rings

"huh! Sweet! Lunch!! See ya kid, that box better not be talking to me or anything or I'm shooting holes the next time it speaks to me"

He walks away while his stomach grumbles.

Finally calm enough to take a deep breath

"whoa…that was close"

He puts the crate inside the ship and puts it in a dark corner

"Make sure you guys are nice and quiet ok, here you guys can have my lunch"

He opens the crate enough to slip the bag through

"oooh!! Thank you Mister Jake person!!"

Ed smiles at him,

"Come on Ein, we'll save this for later,aaaaaaauuuuuughh….let's take a nap"

she chokes Ein to a bone crushing hug as he let's a out a little squeal of surprise, soon fixing himself they both fell asleep with smiles on their faces for their home return.

_(At the Bebop) _

"Wait!!"

Faye runs to the figure up ahead, tripping on the wet floor

"hold on!!"

She gets up and starts running again, but the figure just gets smaller and smaller, she hasn't advanced much since she started running

"Please Spike!! Wait for me!!!"

Her eyes glimmer with tears and she notices she's starting to get closer to him bit by bit, He turns around and looks at her and continues walking away as he is whispering something

"what?"

she questioned

"Wait up damn it!!"

and there up ahead she sees her, Julia looking so elegant, so beautiful even the angels were jealous and Spike smiling as he wraps his arms around her. Faye stops running afraid of what she is seeing, not wanting to believe it, she sees Spike leaning down a bit to give Julia a passionate kiss, Faye turned away too embarrassed of herself, god she was such a fool; who was she to compete with this woman? Even in death her shadow loomed over her but she couldn't just give up

"Spike…..what about us?"

Jet, Ed and the dog appear next to her Spike looks over and shakes his head

"What about me? SPIKE!" Spike glances at her

"Bell peppers with beef" Faye looks up

"What?"

and everything melts away and that is all she can smell, Bell peppers and beef? She slowly wakes up stretching along the sofa, careful not to move too quick as her tired bones and lower back slowly adjust themselves.

'Is that beef I smell?'

She props herself up with her elbows, sticking her nose in the air she sniffs

"What is that smell?"

she gets up and walks toward the kitchen.

Jet finishing the final touches of his dinner he notices Faye walking in a bit dazed

"What is that?"

Jet looks up

"What is what?"

Faye takes a seat at the little round table

"That smell, it smells so good…it actually smells like bell peppers and beef! I mean actual beef in there"

Faye lifts herself more to smell the air in hopes to some how taste it. Jet a bit worried

"Haven't you eaten?"

Faye answers a quick no

"oh that's a shame I only made food enough for me."

Jet smirks a bit at seeing Faye's pouting face

"Are you serious? I mean, I've always liked your food, especially now, with all that beef!"

She licks her lips in full anticipation.

"hagh!"

Jet coughs out

"No, need to lie, and get that look off your face!... geesh worse than a kid"

He sets both their plates down

"Oh really? I get to have a plate?"

Faye smiles, she didn't realize it 'til now but she really was hungry, she hasn't ate since….well, it's been four days.

"Well it's not like I'm going to let you starve"

Jet rolls his eyes when Faye starts choking

"Chew your food, Faye"

She couldn't help but laugh a little, despite the situation, she needed some comfort and what better comfort than food? They eat their food in comfortable silence. Enjoying the best thing that happened to the both of them; so far.


	5. Tomato, Tomatoe, Potato Strut

Chapter 5

Tomatoe, ToMAto, Potato Strut

Mars Station

It was so dark inside the cargo ship Ed couldn't see anything. She and Ein are too excited to keep still,

"co-Come on - Ein!"

Ed was whining struggling inside the box

"keep!—push-ing!"

Using her back for support Ed stretches out her legs to push open the crate while Ein stands on his hind legs and tries to push with his front paws but really he's just staring at the girl almost laughing at her funny attempts.

Just when she was about to give up, the crate gave way making the poor scrawny girl tumble forward "umph!"

she gasped out.

Staying in her crab like position she sidewalks to the left then to the right, making sure no one is insight. Ein following close on her heels runs in front as he notices a big bulk of a harried old man, growling in hopes to make the towering figure stay back, Ein tugs at Edward forcing the girl to crawl back and just when she was about to run off

"HEY! … GET BACK HERE!"

the raspy deep voice boomed out, Ed screamed running in the dark cargo ship, she needed an exit fast, she can here the heavy footsteps of her pursuer and she was shaking a bit but forced herself to think of it as a game. Thinking she can outsmart the man, she plays hide and go seek, purposely making little squeaks and squawks to draw him in. Having a little too much fun, Ein began to worry, the big man wasn't following them anymore, Ed was curious too, and she peeped out a corner of a crate.

"GOTCHA!"

the man yells, grabbing Ed by the neck choking the poor innocent while Ein barks and growls trying to sink his teeth into the man's' legs but the leather boots the man has on is to tough for Ein's small fangs. Ed didn't understand why this man was hurting her and at the moment she didn't care, all she wanted was to be free so she can breathe again. The man was laughing, it was so full malice it gave her a chill, but he got carried away and loosened his grip on her poor neck and took the opportunity to take a deep breath and started kicking and when she saw her chance she bit down hard. Dropping her, she scurries away again picking up Ein and shutting his mouth so he stay quiet.

(At the Bebop)

After the delicious meal, Faye decided to she needed to go for a walk, just as she was about to get her red jacket she noticed Jet watering his bonsai tree

"I'm going to the market, we need some…necessities"

She leaned coolie when Jet looked at her suspiciously

"And where do you think you are going to get the money to get your necessities? hmm?"

Faye smirked, sighing she says

"With this"

flicking the money card between her fingers as if they were poker cards,

"That's not your money, Faye"

Jet sits up glaring at her

"He's not here to claim it, is he? It's ours and we need the money to fix the repairs and we need food, I'll work for a few days doing odd jobs so we can get the hell out of here"

She fixed him a look that told him it was the end of discussion stepping back

"I'll see ya in a bit, Jet"

Growling under his breath

"TAKE THE GODDAMN COMMUNICATOR!"

Hearing her footsteps walking away

"yea yea…."

If there's one think she loved about Mars it would be the plentiful job openings, although she must admit she's not one to hold a job for more than a day, she figured it would be best if she'd stayed away from casinos, the last casino job she had was how she ended up in this mess any way kicking a newspaper stack "Stupid Spiegel!"

she stomps in to a shop the newspaper boy was yelling

"Hey! What the hell was that for! You owe me!"

and when Faye said nothing to him he muttered

"…bitch"

Turning away he felt a hard slap across his head making him hit the floor, squatting down to his level she seductively whispers

"The next time you decide to call a woman like myself a bitch, make sure you have the balls to say it to my face!"

standing straight looking down at the boy who is now bleeding from his nose, satisfied she grins kicking more newspaper stacks just to piss him off more. Walking to a dingy shop she noticed it smelled heavily of sage and it had nothing but broken parts and rusted guns and blasters. Thinking maybe she should head somewhere else but a sweaty old man stopped her

"What are you looking for Miss?"

Facing the little old man she leans in on one of the counters

"Well…since you're here. I need this gun fixed, but I don't think you have the equipment for it…" looking around at the dingy shelves the parts looked like just one touch the rust molded as the piece would turn to dust. The man smirked, instead of getting insulted he stares at the tall feline

"Bring it over"

Faye questioned whether or not to listen but thought he would do no harm, placing the gun carefully on the man's liver spotted fragile hand, they made contact and Faye was surprised they didn't feel weak but callused and strong. The old man inspected the Israeli Jericho 941, he would pull the hammer back then release it, humming a tune Faye couldn't recognize he nods in excitement

"hmm…I'll fix it!"

he exclaims almost startling her

"Hey! Wait a minute! I said you can recommend someone for me! I didn't say go ahead and fix it" she slammed her hand down. The man glints and moves his face closer to her face, still having the gun in his hand he decided to put it to use and bonked Faye on the head

"Ow! What the hell was that for?"

rubbing her head

"Give me that!...hey! give it back!"

although the man looked frail and slow he was, on the contrary very nimble and fast, Just when Faye was about the get the gun away, the little old man turned around

"Follow me"

was all he said and started walking down the hall making Faye fall forward over the counter.

Sprawled on the floor she picks herself up

"stupid..son of a….I'm gonna eat him alive!...mother….!#$#"

Walking very un-lady like she catches up and notices a big metal door, he punches in a code and the door swishes open, taking a few steps in lights automatically turn on and the sight before her was amazing, now this is what she needed a top of a line gun shop, holding classic antiques to the modern day and future pistols and blasters. Faye wasn't sure what category the gun was in but she knew it wasn't a blaster and the bullets were a bit hard to find but they were plentiful around.

"You know, old man, if you had this stashed behind here you could have saved me the trouble"

she blankly states while in awe as she couldn't help but feel like a little kid in a candy store looking at all the different shapes and sizes of the guns the old man looks back

"I only help, a selective few, and this gun originally isn't yours…."

He let the sentence die out and finally stood face to face with the now stoic Faye Valentine standing in front of his desk she felt like she was being questioned

"look old man, it's a long story…."

She sighed and took a deep breath her heart was feeling heavy and the memories of Spike almost burst through her eyes.

The old man, clearly understood by the woman's eyes it was a dark story, a sad story that ended with blood and tears, feeling sorry for her he simply said what was in his mind

"Spike was never one to keep things simple..."

the old man smiled at Faye and just with the look he gave her she knew she didn't have to explain, he knew Spike and knew what he was after and now having his gun brought in by someone else, he knew he was dead.

"That's just the way he liked it, I guess…so are you going to fix it for me…?"

not realizing he never gave his name he lightly slapped his own head

"how rude of me, forgive me, you can call me Brice"

Faye smiled

"No offense but that name is too cool for you, I'll just call ya gramps"

the old man frowned but smirked when Faye was smiling again, for some strange reason he had a feeling this wouldn't be the only encounter he would have with this bounty huntress.

"This gun is a classic with few mods, the hammer is a bit jammed and by the feel of it, the weight is bit off"

as he was examining the weapon he released the clip, and found the double magazine to be empty,

"The damages aren't too big, it definitely needs a good cleaning, maybe fix up those bumps and scratches, I'll redo the modifications and fix the hammer/coil"

He looked up at Faye expectantly

"Ok that's fine, how much?"

Brice thought for a minute or two, which made Faye nervous, she wasn't loaded with cash and was hoping to every God up there they were going to be nice and give her a break

"I would say about $$850"

he waited a beat

"What! Why! How!...I don't have that kind of money!"

She started pacing

_'what the hell is he thinking! What's so special about that stupid gun!...shit where am I going to get that kind of money?'_

her thoughts were racing.

"I have a question for you, can you shoot this gun?"

Faye was insulted

"Of course I can! I have a gun of my own, I use it almost 75% of each day"

the old man looked at her dead panned

"I know, you used a gun before, but I'm talking about this particular model, have you used it?"

She stopped staring at him

"No! he would never let me see it let alone hold it, a gun is a gun, you point and pull the trigger, just like my gun, just like these guns laid out here"

She let her temper get the best of her and the naiveté she tries so hard to hide was slowly creeping its way out, she stood facing him flustered not daring to say another word.

Brice opened the drawer and pulled out a full clip, sliding the clip in 'til he heard the last click he pushed a few selected buttons on his desk panel and a paper target dummy appeared in a small area in the room. Faye was once again behind him, amazed

"Come here, and shoot that target"

placing the gun on the table and stepping away so Faye can take a shot, just as she was about to pick up the gun

"Uh uh uuh.."

Brice scolded

"Safety first kiddo put those protective ear muffs and the eye guard first"

Faye shot him a look of annoyance

"I already told you, I know how to shoot!"

He stared blankly at her

"."

he was annoyed she could tell that much, and to avoid the headache already built behind her skull she listened, and for the first time held the gun as if her own, playing with the weight in her hands,

'_what the heck is that man talking about, the weight feels fine'_

she was beginning to doubt the old man's inspection, she heard Brice instructions through muffled ears "Now, make sure your form is straight, don't get too cocky and assume you can just shoot one off, aim right at the heart, take a deep breath and it has a bit of a kick so be careful you don't move your arm too much"

Faye rolled her eyes

"duh…"

she aims carelessly with one hand at the targets head trying to picture a face to put on it and the black shadow drawings suddenly had blonde hair and blue eyes with a complexion that made the paper cut out glow

_'see how pretty that face is going to look once I'm done with you'_

and she fired, ignoring whatever outburst Gramps was shouting, she didn't expect what happened next; her arm jolted back just a little too much making her take a few steps back. If she would have been less careless she would have hit her face right down the middle. Stunned and feeling a weird pinch on her elbow she points and yells at Brice

"WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT!"

pulling the gear off her face and head

"what are you trying to do! kill me! What did you do to the gun!"

convinced he did something to screw her over

'_is this a trick?_'

looking back at plain black figure, she could have sworn she heard a soft laugh that belonged to that blonde blue eyed "angel"

'_stupid bitch_'

she muttered in her thoughts and was brought back to the present with a snickering that mocked all her intelligence

"Just what I thought, you're useless"

Faye just about had it

"Excuse me, who's useless? I know you're not talking to me"

putting only her ear muffs she picked up the Jericho and with two hands starting shooting round after round at the paper target, Brice no longer laughing takes the gun away from Faye once she sat it down, the gun was smoking and she was satisfied and smirked

"So, you think you did a fine job because you made the gun smoke?"

not waiting for any response he rolls in the paper and found the edges to only be shot, only two shots made it in one in the head and one in the heart

"You're careless, the shooter opposed to you, would have you on the floor by the time you managed to get these two lucky shots in"

Faye stomped like a spoiled brat

"You want to say that again, Old man?"

Brice glared at her, placed a new clip into the Jericho shoved Faye aside

"Excuse me would have sufficed, asshole!"

Brice didn't say much

"Shut the fuck up and watch and learn"

and without giving her a chance to fire a shot of her own he shot all rounds within seconds, the poor Jericho in its condition was pushing all it could, the new paper target was brought back in, Faye smirked seeing that the paper had no obvious damage.

"What are you smirking at? Look, confirm then respond"

Brice once again scolded as he shoved the sheet in Faye's face, backing up she glares,

'_That bastard shot at the exact same spot, not one miss. How the hell?'_

With her temper deflated, she felt like an idiot, Maybe that's what Spike saw in her, incompetence and before she had a chance to feel sorry for herself Brice shook her up.

"Looks like you got a lot to learn…"

He waited, she wasn't angry anymore just disappointed

"It's Faye, Faye Valentine, look, I don't have the money, but I'll work for it, I'll do whatever I can"

Faye didn't know what else to say and just waited as Brice thought about it

"No, money? That's a problem. But I'll tell ya' what, I have feeling you were close to Spike, he was a good friend of mine, I'll fix it for free, why not work here a while and while you're doing that, I'll train ya, using the Jericho…God knows you need it more than I do"

Brice smirked when Faye's face lit up.

"Really?...thanks, I owe ya, how long would it take?"

Brice thought it over

"hmm…how long would it take?"

"I say we should train for a month"

Faye not to keen on the idea of staying at Mars for that long

"Does it have to be a month?"

almost pleading

"We start Tomorrow 7am, don't be late—oh and another thing, I would wear suitable clothes, you'll need it"

Faye grunts

"Deal, See ya, Gramps"

Leaving feeling accomplished she just needed one more stop, the market and by the sound of her grumbling tummy she wouldn't be able to last one more hour. Now where to find the nearest one….

(in the cargo ship)

Tears were swelling behind Ed's eyes, she hasn't heard much of the giant trampling over the crates anymore, she used every sense to pin point his direction and in the far distance to her left she could hear a low raspy breath, barely contained. Luck must have been on her side for she can see a glimmer of light; she slowly crawled to it, still holding Ein tightly so his collar doesn't make any noise. Feeling the cracks and following the light she noticed the wall was loose but it would take more than her own strength to break it down. She crawls back to her safe spot and whispers to Ein

"ok, Ein, we found our escape, we need to get tomato first, then we are going to make Spooky-person chase us, but not chase us and make him go boom with the wall"

she picked Ein's face closer to her face, hoping he understood the message. Taking a deep breath

"stay Ein, I'll be back"

crawling as quiet as she could, she's usually good at this but she needed to be extra careful, feeling around the open crate and feeling inside tomato she picks it up.

Triumphant, she crawls back to where she was sure Ein was but the floor was littered with little splinters of broken crate, and she was pricked hard on her palm, causing her to shriek and drop tomato which turned on, a happy Ed icon appeared spinning around Ed panicked screamed as she heard the loud rumble of the man who was just a few feet away, hearing him running towards she quickly gets up picks up tomato, not even bothering to turn it off, she needed the light, running

"EIN!"

she screams out as she tries to find that crack of light again

"Arggh! Get over here….ya little brat! You need to come back!"

if it wasn't for Ein biting the heels of her feet she would have been trampled over. Still running she finds the cracked wall, she teases the man and faces him, he's running fast and all Ed could do was cringe as she waited for the onslaught but she heard a squeal. Ein threw himself between the man's legs to make him trip giving Ed the chance to duck under, she panicked

"Eiiin!"

and thought he died but she picked him up as light shined through,

"WE DID IT, EIN!"

setting tomato on her head taking out her super scooter from her pack she picked up the uninjured dog and decided to tease the man some more

"YOU CAN'T CATCH ME! =P"

almost as if playing tag, she let the fear fall away now that she was certain she can escape and drove fast through the crowded city, riding for one place and one place only, BEBOP!

Down at the Easy Market, Faye was content with the bags of food she was carrying out, a small bag of fruits and veggies, a carton of eggs, packets of ramen, half gallon of milk, and three packets of meat, real meat this time, non of that dog food, she constantly stole from Ein. Just as she was going to strut over to the Bebop, she heard a ruckus rushing from behind her, being a bounty hunter gave her quick eyes to see where it was coming from. With a big cloud following behind the small speeding figure, Faye couldn't move but stay glued to the spot staring with high hopes that just maybe that could be the little red head she missed so much.

Ed was smiling big =D and she couldn't help but laugh, Ein sitting comfortably in the girl's pack with his front paws on top of her shoulders. Ed was really sharp and as she was getting closer she noticed a figure in yellow with purple hair

"FAYE-FAYE!"

Edward screamed out passing the stunned Faye.

"Oh MY GOD! …..ED!"

She could almost skip with joy as she watched the speeding red head try stopping her super scooter, and just before her eyes a loud crash was heard and rolling out was a jumping Ed and a terrified Ein both running towards Faye.

"FAYE-FAYE!"

She screamed out, running with arms wide open jumping on Faye, tears of joy freely falling, and Faye couldn't deny the simple joy wash over her as she laughed.

"Ed! Where have you been?...I see you too, Ein."

trying to keep the girl still and not drop the bags but Ed was crawling everywhere around her almost making Faye dizzy,

"WE FOUND THE PLACE WHERE WE BELONG! FAYE-FAYE!"

Ed cheers out, Ein barking happily next to her, a crowd was starting form

"that's great, Ed, but we need to get out of here, come on follow me"

Faye started pushing through the crowd, man, Ed put Spike to shame with the damages she causes in just mere seconds, cars turned over, piled and crushed while her seemingly indestructible scooter sat there almost waiting for its rider.

'Wow, Jet would be excited to see what I brought home'

she smiles while watching Ed folding up her scooter.

"HEY! GET THAT KID!"

Faye quickly turned around to see a huge dirty man, running towards Edward; she dropped her bags and ran towards the unknowing girl

"ED! RUN!"

Following close behind she reaches in her red jacket for her gun; her eyes grew in fear when she realized she had no gun with her

"Shit!"

she scolded herself and took another look at the man, he had no weapon either and from the looks of it, he was trouble, getting closer to the girl and her scooter she looks behind to see that the fat man still had a bit to catch up.

"GO ON ED! GET A MOVE ON IT!"

Ed was once again laughing,

"Hop on Faye-Faye!"

Faye was a bit nervous not really trusting her maneuvering skills as she remembered the last time Ed controlled the Bebop

"uh…it's ok ki-!"

she didn't have much time to finish her sentence for Ed grabbed her arm and pulled, next thing she knew she was sitting down with Ed and Ein in front her standing on the small beam,

"whoa, wait a minute!"

Faye didn't know where to grab on

"HEY! GET OVER HERE!...STOP!"

the man yelled and he was a lot closer now

'how the hell did he get here so fast!'

"GO ED….GO!"

she grabs behind her seat praying that would be enough to keep her seated.

"TO THE BE-BE-BEBE-BEBOOOOP!"

kicking in the scooter to drive it shoots out just as the man was about to grab onto Faye,

"ah shiiiiiiIIIt!"

Faye yelled almost pissing her shorts. Ed was driving like a mad woman, still keeping that grin plastered on her face; she decided it was a perfect day to celebrate and drove everywhere, making people scatter out of the way debris was following her tail. Faye was too scared to speak but remembered her groceries yelling she gets Ed's attention

"ED WE NEED TO GO BACK, I FORGOT THE GROCERIES!"

Ed turned

"ooooh….food?"

and without hesitation she turned her scooter abruptly that made Faye lean so far out her face was inches away from the pavement

"Ooh..MYY..GAAAHHD!"

trying hard to pick herself up she felt the turn and jolt from the scooter that helped her.

"YOU'RE CRAZY EDWARD! YOU ALMOST KILLED ME!"

Faye yelled in her ear

"huh? Faye-Faye?…."

Not even looking at the road anymore as she stares at Faye's pale green face. Faye had no idea how in the world she's going to live through this, the girl was no longer facing the road but at her, she could have died right then and there, missing cars, people jumping out of the way yelling obscenities at them and here was Ed staring at her in confusion Faye scrunched her eyes

"STOP CALLING ME FAAAAYE-FAAAAYE!"

almost pulling her hair out and kicks out her leg kicking something she opens her eyes and sees the bags waiting for her

'There they are!'

taking a quick breath she uses her left hand to hang on to the scrawny kid and leaned to the right stuck out her arm and grabbed.

"WOOOOOOO!...HAHA! I got it!"

Faye triumphantly yells as Ed and Ein start howling and laughing and once again turning back up the block they were just driving down from.

Just when the man thought he lost his catch he saw them driving towards him

"What are they, mad!"

he started running convinced they were chasing him trying to run him over, he hustled and bustled but they were catching up really quick, he started maneuvering in and out of cars onto the sidewalks and street and still he can hear the maniacal laugh of the little girl. He needed to come up with a plan quick or he'll be road kill. Just as he was about to make it he heard the woman yell out

"STOP CALLING ME FAAAAYE-FAAAAYE!"

as he felt a sharp kick on his back making him crash through the window

"Aagh!..."

he yelled out as he laid flat on his back painfully turning quick to see if they were going to come in but they went straight and he saw the older woman pick up a few grocery bags and turn back from where they were coming from he saw the girl the dog and the woman driving off. Embarrassment flooded his face

'they weren't even chasing me!..I'm such an idiot!'

the small time crook decided he needed to go back to earth, he's never been outside of earths system, ever and being in a busy planet like Mars was a bit too advanced for him.

Ed didn't need any direction to get to the Bebop; she still had the ships tracker with her. Just above the horizon she could see the ship, old and rusty anyone who walked by would just assume it was some fisher's boat, poor, stingy and overall useless but the few occupants thought otherwise, it was home. Jet was cleaning the ship, seeing that no one else would ever do it and just when he convinced himself it was going to be an extremely quiet night, again, he heard Faye's footsteps he also heard the pitter patter of little feet jumping and barking?

'did she get a dog!'

Jet stood up straight, he was unsure what to do, Faye was never the dog type,

'Is that why she's been out for hours?'

he questioned himself. The noise got louder and this time he heard a small giggle

'She got a kid too!'

but he was wrong, Faye was the only one that walked in with crumpled bags of groceries, and her hair was all pushed up to one side he laughs

"What happened to you? what took you so long?"

he walks closer to her looking out the hangar but seeing nothing,

'what was that?'

but Faye took his attention away

"Believe me, it's a crazy story, but first I think you need to see something…"

Faye smiled it wasn't often she got to surprise the big black dog like this

"Oh, I don't know Faye…there's something going on….what is it?"

walking carefully out the door

"Just go, see for yourself"

Faye started pushing him 'man he's heavy' Jet started pushing back he didn't want to see what was out there but when they got to the garage it was empty

"hmm..that's odd, I could have sworn I left them here.."

Faye started looking around but then heard the giggling, a yelp and a thud Ed was on top of Jet laughing "JET-PERSON!"

she screamed, Jet couldn't believe it, what in the world? How did she do it? He was really happy to see Ed and Ein back but would never let it show too much, he picked himself up and patted her head

"Good seeing ya kid"

laughing they walk back in. Ed taking the lead with tomato balanced on her head, Ein following close behind barking as her arms spread like wings running around the Bebop leaving Faye and Jet.

Jet clears his throat,

"so how did this miracle happen?"

still chuckling at the thought

'maybe it will work out after all'

Faye smiled

"you wouldn't believe, was coming out of the market when I saw Ed being chased by some John, small fry, but -"

Faye stopped at Jet's expression

"Nothing happened. Well not too much, I don't know why he was after her, didn't have a weapon on me anymore so all I could think of was getting the kid out of there."

Faye waited as Jet was taking in the information

"You didn't have your weapon? Faye that's careless of you! Where is it? And why didn't you use the communicator!"

he all but yelled at her, Faye thought about it, 'communicator?'

"Oh, forgot about it, I guess"

as she reaches on her side for the link

"look, don't give me that, 'you're being irresponsible look', I panicked, she was being chased, I needed her to get out and did all I could due to the short amount of time I had….it's not like I knew she was going to be there, I was convinced I would never see her again, ok. I was just caught off guard"

Faye's eyes watered and Jet rubbed the back of his bald head

"Look, whatever it is, it can wait, did you see him leave by any chance?"

Faye looked up

"Are you kidding me! That kid drives worse than Spike all I was able to see were blurred shapes and colors, that scooter of hers is a lot faster than your average speedster"

Jet thought a for a moment,

"Then that leaves us with the option to leave, -Ganymede would be our best bet, right now"

Faye bit her lip at this

"We…I can't do that…"

she paused when Jet's expression became stoic

"what do you mean "I" can't do that? Are you thinking of leaving kid?"

Jet leaned on the counter arms crossed

"No, of course not Jet, I wouldn't do that to you, this is home, now. I have nowhere else to go. We can't leave 'cuz, well, I got a job and some training set up for a month here"

Jet surprised

"What the hell? A job? Training? Training for what?"

Faye smiled

"Well before I went to the market, I stopped at a gun shop to get my gun fixed and he offered me a job and a place to train"

Jet smiled at her almost mockingly

'training?'

he couldn't believe it

"Look, Jet this isn't easy for me to admit this but I'm not as skilled as we need me to be if we plan on surviving on catching bounty heads, if we're a team in this we need to make up for…..what we lost and rely on each other"

Faye stood her ground

"Alright Faye, I agree. But first give me the description of the guy, I'll go out and make sure he leaves this place"

Faye smirked

"…Thanks, Jet"

they were about to hug but decided against it and decided to shake hands but it was too formal so Faye pulled out two cigarettes instead, that was more their style and lit the smokes. Looks like these cowboys are starting on their new journey.


End file.
